March `17, 2021- 11:47 a.m
A Florida man has been charged with murdering his neighbor during an ongoing property dispute — which was captured on the victim’s cellphone, authorities said.
Ralph Christie Jr., 69, was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder with a firearm following the fatal Friday afternoon confrontation with his 30-year-old neighbor, Billy Irvin Nobles, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a residence in Christmas, Florida and found Nobles shot. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died, deputies said.
“All parties involved are known to each other and everyone remained at the scene and cooperated with deputies,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “This case centers around an ongoing property dispute between relatives.”
Christie and Nobles are related through marriage, sheriff officials told The Post Wednesday, without elaborating.
The shooting occurred as Nobles had been using a backhoe to build a driveway so the neighbors no longer had to share one, according to the affidavit.
Christie’s wife, Juanita Gay Christie, told investigators her neighbor was about to run her over with the backhoe on the couple’s property when her husband fired at him to protect her.
She claimed Nobles hit her on the knee with the wheel of the backhoe, pinning her against some vines, the affidavit shows.
But an arrest warrant obtained by the Orlando Sentinel shows that cellphone video recorded by Nobles as he was fatally injured debunked her claims, showing that she wasn’t in the path of the backhoe when her husband opened fire.
Nobles’ wife said she heard the shot and noticed his cellphone was in video mode when she went to help him. A 23-minute recording on his phone revealed that Juanita Christie was yelling at Nobles and leaned on the backhoe’s bucket, blocking it from moving, the affidavit states.
The footage also showed Ralph Christie coming out of his house with a rifle and Juanita Christie stepping out of the way, according to the report.
Christie opened fire after Nobles yelled “what the [expletive] is your deal,” the affidavit states.
“[Nobles] cried in pain and kept repeating that he had children,” investigators wrote.
Nobles is survived by his wife, who is pregnant with their third child, and two sons, according to an online fundraiser.
“Billy was such a loved and amazing human that didn’t deserve what happened to him,” his wife, Tori, said in a statement. “He was the most wonderful husband and I couldn’t of ask for a more perfect father to our children.”
Christie remained held without bond Wednesday at the Orange County Jail, records show. He has declined to speak with detectives without his attorney, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
